Surgical piercing device



Sept. 18, 1951 R. w. SPICHER 2,568,207

SURGICAL PIERCING DEVICE Filed March 8, 1949 FIG. 4

INVENTOR.

R. w. SPlCHER ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 18, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SURGICAL PIERCING DEVICE Robert Spicher, .Hayre, Mont. Application March 8, 1949, Serial No. 80,195

This invention relates to sungeryandmoize par ticularly .to an instrument adapted for piercing the lobe of an ear in order that earrings of the 'typewhich pass through the ear lobes may be worn.

Earrings have been worn for ornamentation since early times and various means have been provided for piercing the lobes to accommodate the earrings. The most usual practice has been to force .a needle or the like through the car, a

local anesthetic sometimes being used to reduce the pain accompanyingithe procedure. In some cases as soon as the lobe has been amended the earring is positioned, and in others a wire or piece of thread has been left in the opening in order to prevent the openings being closed during the healing of thewound. Various disadvantages have accompanied this procedure, including the pain of the operation and frequent infection.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for safely piercing the lobe of an ear with a minimum of pain and inwhich means is provided for substantially eliminating the possibility of infection and which is adapted for expeditious accomplishment.

A further object of the invention is the provision of simple inexpensive apparatus adapted for use by a physician in conjunction with other conventional implements for safely and efiiciently piercing an ear lobe.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a device constructed in accordance with the present invention and illustrating its position for use with a conventional syringe;

Fig. 2 an exploded view partly in section of the end of the device;

Fig. 3, a section showing the hollow shaft and its end fasteners;

Fig. 4, a view partly in section illustrating the application of the device to an ear lobe;

Fig. 5, a view partly in section showing the device in position prior tothe withdrawal of the syringe; and,

Fig. 6, a view similar to Fig. showing the end cap in place.

Referring to the drawings, a conventional hypodermic syringe I0 is shown of the kind commonly used by physicians having a plunger ll 4 Claims. (01. 1,28--329) and a point 12 with an aperture t3 through which the fluid contained within the syringe may flow.

For piercing an ear lobe a hollow needle 14 is provided having a point '15 with an opening i=5 and a body I! with internal threads 11 8. The needle 14 is adapted to receive a cylinder I19 having external threads 228 adapted to mate with the threads 18 on the needle. A plurality of spaced apertures 2! are in the body of the shaft which has a flanged end portion 22 having a plurality of surfaces 23 providing a handle of a configuration adapted to be grasped for rotating the-shaft relative to the needle.

An end cap 24 for theshaft It has a cylindrical body portion 25 with internal threads 2-5 adapted to receive the threaded end .of the shaft is, a flange and end closure 21 being formed atone end of the member and having knurled surfaces Z8 or the like to facilitate rotation and removalof the member.

It is, understood that al-thou h threaded engagement between the shaft and the associated needle and cap is a preferred construction. obviously other means for the engagement of; the

parts within the scope of the invention. 7

An end plug or closure member 29 having a tapered body 30 and a flanged gripping portion 3| is adapted to be received in the end of the shaft I9 adjacent its flange 22 for sealing that end of the shaft. The plug 29 may be of resilient material such as rubber or plastic, or may be of various other materials which may be easily insorted into the bore of the shaft to seal the end of the same andwhich may be readily removed.

In the use of the device and referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2, and 4, shaft I9 is engaged with the hollow needle Hi and the end l2 of a syringe containing procaine or other suitable local anesthetic is inserted into the shaft. The point 15 of the hollow needle i then pressed into the ear lobe at the position for the earring opening a sufficient amount to permit the procaine to anesthetize the nerves in that locality. The procaine is then injected into the earlobe, following which the syringe is removed and the needle I4 is pushed through the lobe.

After the needle is pushed through the lobe it may be unscrewed from the shaft 20 and removed leaving the shaft in the lobe. The cap 24 i then fastened onto the end of the shaft projecting from the lobe and an infection preventing solution such as penicillin or the like is then injected into the shaft I!) as illustrated in Fig. 5. The solution in the shaft is then free to pass out of the openings 2| in the shaft into the tissues sura local anesthetic into the ear lobe and for pierc-' ing the lobe and including a detachable shaft with means for retaining it in position in the lobe, the shaft being hollow and apertured to conduct infection preventing solution to surrounding tissues.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An ear lobe piercing instrument comprising a hollow needle having a point at one end with an opening therethrough and being open at the other end, a hollow shaft open at both ends removably positioned within said hollow needle and projecting outwardly from th other end of said needle, said hollow shaft being formed with openings extending transversely therethrough and a syringe having its discharge nozzle positioned in the projecting end of said shaft for feeding a fluid to the hollow needle and through the point opening into the ear, said hollow needle being removable from said shaft after insertion into an ear leaving said shaft in the pierced ear,

' said shaft being adapted to be closed at both ends for retaining a medication therein.

2. A surgical device comprising a tubular needle pointed at one end and open at the other, a tubular shaft having openings extending through the 4 wall thereof and being open at one end removably positioned in said tubular needle with said one end projecting outwardly of the other end of said needle, and a flange projecting transversely from said one end of said shaft to provide a manipulating handle therefor, said needle being adapted to penetrate an ear lobe and be removed from the lobe leaving the shaft in the penetration and said shaft being adapted to receive a medication for supplying the medication to the walls of the penetration.

3. A surgical device comprising a tubular needle pointed at one end and open at the other,

a tubular shaft having openings extending through the wall thereof and being open at one end removably positioned in said tubular needle with said one end projecting outwardly of the other end of said needle, said needle being adapted to penetrate an ear lobe and be removed from the lobe leaving the shaft in the penetration and said shaft being adapted to receive a medication for supplying the medication to the walls of the penetration.

4. A surgical device comprising a tubular needle having a point at one end with an opening therethrough and being open at the other end, a tubular shaft having openings extending through the wall thereof and being open at one end removably positioned in said tubular needle with said one end projecting outwardly of the other end of said needle, said needle being adapted to penetrate an ear lobe and be removed from the lobe leaving the shaft in the penetration and said shaft being adapted to receive a medication for supplying the medication to the walls of the penetration.

ROBERT W. SPICHER.

REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain 1901 Number 

